THE REV. DR. G. MALCOLM SINCLAIR

The Rev. Dr. George Malcolm Sinclair was called to the pulpit of the Metropolitan Church in 1988. In 1998 the congregation invited him to serve further in an Intentional Long-Term Ministry. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Laurentian University, a Master of Divinity degree from Emmanuel College, Toronto. In 1986 he received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Drew University in the United States, and in 1997 was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree (honoris causa) from Emmanuel College.

Dr. Sinclair has served four Toronto congregations over forty years, and is widely invited to preach across Canada and beyond. He has been a theme speaker at home and in the United States, and has lectured on “Imagination in Preaching” at the Toronto School of Theology. In recent years Dr. Sinclair has been a contributor to “Feasting on the Word”, a multi-volume lectionary resource for preachers, published by Westminster John Knox Press in Nashville.

He is a Past-President of the St. Andrew’s Society of Toronto, a member of the Royal Canadian College of Organists, Clan Sinclair of Canada, and is Padre to the 78th Fraser Highlanders, York Garrison.

To the Kid Smoking Crack Outside my House

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Monday, 25 January 2010 18:59

I read some of William Wordsworth’s poetry today to afford myself just a few moments of reverie in the presence of gracious language. I realized how little of it I hear around me, and how differently it filters through my perception when I do. My mind seemed to open neglected pathways to take in the splendour of Wordsworth’s phrases. How many other such pathways languish for want of good company?

I do not wish to lament the pedestrian nature of language usage, how it simply gets us from here to there. Nor do I want to decry the surface application of words, images and ideas so easily thrown around among us. Only now, with my advancing years, am I able to begin to appreciate the wonder of words and the lush thickness of thought.

There is something to be said for living long enough for reflection. There is much to be said for keeping the curriculum broad and the expectations for ourselves high. Shallow lives make for shallow cultures. Small, utilitarian contacts leave the soul desolate.

“That though the radiance which once was so bright be now forever taken from my sight; though nothing can bring back the splendour in the grass, glory in the flower, we will grieve not, rather find strength in what remains.”

“The human mind is capable of excitement without the application of gross and violent stimulants, and he must have a very faint perception of its beauty who does not know this.” ( William Wordsworth)